Geographical Profile/Political Information

Climate-predominantly Mediterranean; Alpine in far north; hot, dry in south.
Major Physical Features- Apennines Mountains, Gargano Peninsula, Adriatic & Tyrrhenian Seas.\
Major cultural Characteristics- Pastas, many home grown/home made foods, Roman Catholic.
Major Cities- Rome,Venice,Milan
Type of Government- Republic
Head of State- President Giorgio NAPOLITANO
Head of Government- Prime Minister Silvio BERLUSCONI
Global Organizations- WTO,NATO
Flag- Striped Green,Red and White

Economic Information

Exchange Rate- euros (EUR) per US dollar - 0.7153
Natural Resources-coal, mercury, zinc, potash, marble, barite, asbestos, pumice, fluorspar, feldspar, pyrite (sulfur),
natural gas and crude oil reserves, fish, arable land
Agricultural Products- wheat, rice, grapes, olives, citrus fruits, potatoes, sugar beets, soybeans beef, dairy products.
Industries- tourism, machinery, iron and steel, chemicals, food processing, textiles, motor vehicles, clothing, footwear, ceramics
Imports- engineering products, chemicals, transport equipment, energy products, minerals and nonferrous metals, textiles and clothing; food, beverages, and tobacco
Import Partners- Germany 15.9%, France 8.5%, China 6.2%, Netherlands 5.3%, Libya 4.6%, Russia 4.2%
Export- $369 billion
Export Partners- Germany 12.7%, France 11.2%, Spain 6.5%, US 6.2%, UK 5.2%
GDP- $2.114 trillion
GDP per Capita- $29,500.
HDI- .951
HDI Ranking- 18th
Unemployment Rate- 7.5%

Population Information

Current Population- 58,090,681
Age Distribution- 0-14 years: 13.4% (male 4,026,439/female 3,785,978)
15-64 years: 66.2% (male 19,531,498/female 18,945,442)
65 years and over: 20.3% (male 4,929,640/female 6,871,684)

Human Rights Information

Environmental Information